Remotely controlled surgical instruments, which can include teleoperated surgical instruments as well as manually operated (e.g., laparoscopic, thorascopic) surgical instruments, are often used in minimally invasive medical procedures. During a surgical procedure, a surgical instrument can come into contact with bodily fluids and other non-sterile substances and/or surfaces. After the surgical procedure, the surgical instrument may be cleaned. During the cleaning process, a user may wish to actuate various components, such as an end effector and/or wrist, of the surgical instrument to expose surfaces for access during cleaning. To actuate such components during the cleaning operation, the user may have to grip and manually actuate the component because the instrument is not attached to a surgical system that would normally provide an actuation input through a connected transmission housing of the surgical instrument. Gripping the component, however, may not be desirable because the component may include sharp surfaces, such as when the component is an end effector including scissors, a scalpel, or a blade, etc.
While cleaning procedures have been effective for cleaning surgical instruments, still further improvements to facilitate surgical instrument cleaning are desirable. For example, it may be desirable to facilitate actuation of various components, such as end effectors and/or wrists, of a surgical instrument by a user during a cleaning procedure.